Miami Sports Arena Plan May Lure Basketball Team

MIAMI — If all goes as planned, the city will have an 18,000-seat sports arena by 1988 and an exhibition center by 1990 in the Park West/Overtown redevelopment area north of downtown.

The Houston-based development team that won a city award to build the project has developed a business plan and will submit it June 13 to the City Commission.

Decoma Venture`s plan calls for building the arena first to strengthen Miami`s bid for a National Basketball Association team.

Later this month, the NBA will discuss expansion of the league at its summer meetings. Commissioner David Stern has said that with an arena in place, Miami could be the first in line for a new franchise.

A local group led by Miami Beach auto dealer Alan Potamkin is expected to make a formal bid for a team some time after the NBA meetings.

The Decoma Venture has scaled down the cost of the Biscayne Centrum from the figures it cited in its original presentation. The arena plan has decreased from $78 million to $65 million and the exhibition hall cost has decreased from $117 million to $100 million.

Decoma proposes to pay $9 million of the arena-development costs, with the remainder covered by the city`s share of a countywide tourist tax.

The bulk of the exhibition hall cost, $68 million, would be paid by an adjustable rate-demand note backed by the tourist tax and other city revenue. The tourist tax would supply $21 million and the remainder would come from other bonds, grants and loans.

Decoma said it wants to build the project in phases to reduce the financial burden on the city and to aid construction. The group said proceeds from the arena could later assist in the financing of the exhibition hall.

Dacoma said the arena also would stimulate more Metrorail ridership than the exhibition hall -- potentially good news for a mass transit system that has been criticized.